Yara Shahidi’s Views on Self-Care and Mental Wellness

Juggling school, a thriving acting career, and life can be daunting for a young adult. Yara Shahidi became a household name after Black-ish. She earned global praise and got the opportunity to star in her own spinoff, Grown-ish. The young actress also graduated from Harvard University, which is quite impressive on its own.

All these duties seemingly took a toll on Yara’s mental health. She opened up about her struggles. Here’s how Yara takes care of herself mentally.

Being Yara Shahidi hasn’t been easy, especially because she became successful at a young age. She has been an inspiration for young kids, teens, and young adults. But does she manage to hold it all together?

The Grown-ish star discussed how a lack of confidence and fear of failure almost paralyzed her career. She hit worldwide fame when she was barely an adult and had to deal with much pressure. Yara also suffered from imposter syndrome, where she often questioned her worth and wondered if she deserved to enjoy the success she had.

Besides working on growing her acting career, Yara got admitted to Havard University, and things didn’t get any easier. She now had academics to focus on as well. It’s a lot to handle, especially when one also needs a social life. Thankfully, she graduated in 2022 after taking a one-year break in 2018.

The actress has been quite vocal about her mental health struggles and how she overcomes the problem every day. Yara spoke to Teen Vogue and disclosed a few tips she uses to defend herself from the mental pressures she often faces.

Yara’s first tip is to exercise self-confidence. She said that confidence is like a muscle that, if not exercised, becomes weak. The actress made daily affirmations a habit. She has to constantly remind herself that she’s a great actress and deserves everything she enjoys because she’s earned it.

Yara also listens to music to calm her nerves whenever she feels overwhelmed. She takes more non-traditional ways to cope with life stresses. The actress also found reading to be quite therapeutic.

While the fear of failure probably gave Yara the biggest worry, she learned to face it by accepting that failure is part of the journey to success. There will be ups and downs; one just has to know how to deal with both extremes.

The actress left Twitter, now X, in 2020 after being subjected to intense criticism. Yara chose her inner peace and decided to quit the platform.

"I feel like I used to have two voices in my brain. When I looked at projects, I'd have my voice and then I'd have what I labelled the 'Twitter voice,'" she told Marie Claire. “What was disarming about this 'Twitter voice' was that all of that went away and didn't matter to me as soon as I heard it... Getting off of Twitter has done wonders for me. It's allowed me the peace of mind to think through what matters to me and why."

It has taken a young Yara Shahidi a lot of work to better her mental health. She is grateful to have a strong support system from her family and friends that protects her against societal pressures. Yara acknowledged that she still has a lot to learn, but in the meantime, she will use her power to create awareness about mental health.